"By using this technology we can combine three tasks - building a
roof, putting insulation into a building and then covering a building
- that take a lot of time," Salvati says. "No one else in the United
States is doing this. We are always trying to find a better product that
will simplify the construction process and lower the cost."
Support Systems
This six-unit apartment
complex in New Haven, Conn.,
consists of 27 containers.
«
Marengo Structures is a member of the American Institute of
Architects, National Fire Protection Association, U.S. Green Building
Council and the Modular Building Institute (MBI). Salvati credits
the MBI in particular with assisting Marengo Structures with project
development. "None of what we do would be possible without the
MBI," he says. "It is a tremendous resource, and we appreciate the
help it gives to us."
Home Depot is another invaluable ally to the company. The
national retailer's Pro Desk acts as the company's main supply chain
management and logistics provider, as it ships supplies directly to
Marengo Structures' jobsites. Home Depot's help desk also offers
guidance on the use of various building products.
"We are taking methods that are typically associated with concrete or wood frame construction and applying those to steel, so
having suppliers with a professional knowledge base is invaluable,"
Salvati says. "Having a partner like Home Depot means we can
function anywhere in the country where they have a store, which is
practically everywhere."
Connecticut. In 2013, Marengo Structures completed a two-story,
2,160-square-foot two-family house in New Haven, Conn.
The home, which is comprised of six containers, was built by a
crew of four people in six months. Although the home is built of
shipping containers, it blends into the surrounding neighborhood
because of the company's use of Hardi board for its façade. "You
cannot tell what the building is when you look at it from the front,"
he adds. "The aesthetic flexibility we have is a distinct advantage for
planning permission."
Marengo Structures' second building, also in New Haven, is a
six-unit apartment complex consisting of 27 containers. Containers
make up 8,460 total square feet of the 9,760-square-foot complex's
total area. The four-story building was completed in 2015.
Looking Forward
With both of its completed projects fully occupied, Marengo Structures is looking ahead to future work, including potential projects
in New York City. The company is also in talks to build a single-family home in Vermont, as well as a large apartment complex in the
United Kingdom. The U.K. project could potentially include 60 to 100
units and be six stories tall, Salvati notes.
Future projects will likely include a structurally integrated solar
roof system by Designergy, a Switzerland-based company with
which Marengo has collaborated with in the past. The prefabricated system integrates solar panels and insulation directly into a
single structure that can be picked up and placed onto a building
by a crane.
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JUNE 2017 CONSTRUCTION-TODAY.COM